Amsterdam - Day Two

Saturday morning. Woke up with absinthe headache. Bought some pastries and hot chocolate for brekky, and had a wander around the lovely little Amsterdam shops.

The Dutch are very well-dressed, and there were lots of excellent clothing shops. (We made a mental note to return, and we did!) Stuck our noses into a few interesting knick-knack shops, and had a most pleasant stroll through flower shop alley - tulip bulbs, anyone?

Of course we knew all about the "Coffee Shops", but it was still surprising to see hallucinogenic mushrooms for sale in a shop window.

We did pop into one such shroom shop, out of curiosity. Alongside tasty psilocybe treats, they also sell a million different pills, herbal uppers and aphrodisiacs. I sniffed a line of "herbal speed", and we bought a high-potent caffeine soft drink. I’m not sure any of this actually helped my headache.

After a little more window shopping, we arrived at Dam Square, Amsterdam's old town centre. There was a small child peeing on a wall, horses and horse poo, a National Monument made of marble but now grey with pigeon shit, and homeless people. I reckon some parts of Amsterdam could use a good waterblasting.

The part of Dam Square between the Royal Palace and Nieuwe Kerk (“New Church” – from the 14th Century!) was filled up with a carnival, so I cajoled Anna into letting me ride on the Ghost Train. It was pretty good - as your near the exit, someone actually chases after you with a chainsaw. Quite a shock after all the animatronic elements!

The church interior was very beautiful. Cavernous ceiling, ornate organ section, intricately carved wooden pulpits, and stained glass windows depicting the coronations of Dutch royalty.

Curiously enough, the church was currently housing an fashion history exhibition. It was a bit strange watching racy ads on the TV screens, surrounded by lacy underwear and corsets, inside a church.

Took a break and went on a canal cruise next, which was nice enough, but boring after a while. Still, we got a good overview of the city and the canals are very pretty.

Had lunch at a fancy restaurant (basil pesto soup with tomatoes, pasta and broadbeans) then sauntered through De Wallen (Amsterdam’s lovely red light district, also known as Walletjes or Rosse Buurt) to the Oude Kerk (“Old Church”).

This beautiful, ancient edifice of worship is flanked by the prostitutes standing in their red-lit display windows, and open-air public urinals. Nice!


The church did have a lovely interior - the floor was entirely paved with large (and often ornate) tombstones. Unfortuantely, we had to pay extra to get in because they were using the space for a crappy art exhibition.



More walking, this time to Anne Frank Huis (House). Deterred by the horrendous queue, we went to a nearby restaurant instead for cheese, Amsterdam meatballs and Bokbier (Anker-Bok). Yummy!

When we left, the queue had dwindled a little, so we joined in and managed to get inside just before closing time. The “Secret Annexe” was much larger than I had imagined (having not read the diary), but it was still a moving experience– especially seeing the original diaries. I bought a copy of the diary to read.

Back to the hostel to see if Bruce was around. No joy. Went to Amsterdam Casino, instead. Grabbed some free drinks and went to watch the Blackjack and Roulette tables. Decided to have a wee play on the slot machines – I was attracted by a genuine Aliens game! Of course I lost spectacularly, but it was worth it. All in all a bit of a laugh, and a nice post-Casino waffle and ice cream helped ease the pain.